All My Hope in a Little Pink Heart
by Zetor
Summary: Pacifica works through some new feelings while signing Dipper's going away card.


Pacifica Northwest paced back and forth, slowly wearing down her hotel room's carpet; her parents were still looking for a new house after selling the mansion to that crazy hillbilly so they wouldn't be poor. She cursed her father for ignoring her and trying to deal with that stupid triangle for what felt like the thousandth time. She might be trying to be a little nicer, but that didn't mean she wanted to stop living like a princess.

Her financial situation, however, wasn't what was bothering her. No, it was a baseball cap wearing little dork, an inexplicably cute baseball wearing little dork. The mystery solving Dipper Pines was, ironically, a mystery to Pacifica. He and his weirdo family had somehow gotten her to do what she never even knew she needed to, change. He'd made her want to be a better person when she had been convinced she was already the best.

And now he was leaving, just like that. Sure, there was the party, she smiled down at her tape covered hands at the thought, but it was all too soon. Why couldn't he have shown her sooner? Why couldn't she have figured it out _herself_ sooner?

She was dodging the biggest point though. Dipper made her feel _funny._ He was brave and kind and smart and… she liked him. There was no way around it. The few times she'd been around him since everything went back to normal there were butterflies in her stomach and she had to fight not to blush or stammer. It was horrible and she loved it, and he would be gone in less than a week.

Before she could sink deeper into preteen angst, her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Thankful for the distraction, she hurried to answer. Pulling it open she found none other than Wendy Corduroy, dressed in her usual unfashionable flannel shirt and jeans. Pacifica's gut twisted a bit at seeing Dipper's long time crush. "What do _you_ want?" she asked, somewhat harsher than she intended.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "Look, I'm putting together a note for Dipper, kind of a going away card, and I'm getting everyone to sign it. I figure since you've been acting less horrible lately and you _did_ help out with all that weirdness I'd ask you to sign."

"Oh. Uh, thanks," Pacifica answered, taken aback. She was still getting used to people being nice and including her when she didn't pressure or bribe them into it. "Let me go get a pen."

"Cool. Go ahead and take the note," Wendy said leaning against the doorway and holding out the paper.

Pacifica took the note and unfolded it as she walked over to her luggage. A surprising number of people had signed, most of whom she didn't know. A few wrote a word or two along with their signature; she noticed that Candy girl had drawn a heart and made a mental note to keep an eye on her.

When she got to her bag, she started digging, looking for the perfect pen that would stand out and make Dipper remember her. Finally selecting a pink gel pen, she sat down next to the night stand and tried to decide what to write.

Should she tell him how she felt? This would be her last chance before he left. She definitely couldn't just put a heart under her name like Candy, she'd look like a copycat and besides it looked desperate. She couldn't just come out and say it either though, if he knew how she felt and didn't feel the same way she would be crushed. Then she had an idea, she'd leave Dipper a clue without making it too obvious; he was the mystery boy after all. Before she could talk herself out of it, Pacifica quickly signed her name in the bottom right corner of the note, dotting the first "i" of her name with a little pink heart. It could just be written off as a girl writing her name cutely, but if he felt the same way about her, she was sure he'd get the message.

She folded up the piece of paper, then walked over and handed it back to Wendy, who quickly pocketed it.

"Tell him anything special?" Wendy asked with a knowing look.

Pacifica sputtered for a moment, then sharply said, "What are you talking about? As if I could like that dork."

Wendy grinned as she backed out of the doorway. "Who said anything about liking him?" From down the hallway, she added, "Good luck kid. See you at the party."

Pacifica slammed the door and stomped over to her bed, flopping down onto it face first. Was she really that obvious? If she was, Dipper hadn't said anything. Of course, he could be pretty dense sometimes. Rolling over and staring at the ceiling, she decided that Wendy was just perceptive. That had to be it. Dipper couldn't know yet; if he knew he definitely would have said something. Right?

With a sigh, Pacifica got up and grabbed her presents for the Pines Twins. As she started the long walk from the hotel to the Mystery Shack, Pacifica thought about her little pink heart and hoped it would be enough.

* * *

Yo,

This is just a little something that popped into my head while I was writing something else. Hope you enjoy!


End file.
